


A Light to Guide Your Way

by silvercolour



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: And Martin can have fire magic as a treat, Angst, Asexual Character, Canon-Typical Worms, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Happy Ending, M/M, Magic AU, Parallel worlds au, and the cancel the apocalypse, at first anyway, basically we’re going to speedrun seasons 1-4, jon is ace, magic is exhausting, no beta only kayaking, there was only one bed except that means of them is taking the sofa
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-08
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-15 05:28:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29928606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silvercolour/pseuds/silvercolour
Summary: Jon wasn’t really sure why he came back to see the lantern in Artifact Storage. Nothing kept in Artifact Storage was innocent– he knew that better than most employees of the Magnus Institute. But it kept appearing in his dreams, and that was unacceptable.In which Jon accidentally opens a door to a different universe, and meets Martin. Martin isn’t from this universe, which unfortunately means he has nowhere to stay but with Jon, the person who opened the door between worlds.
Relationships: Martin Blackwood/Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist
Comments: 18
Kudos: 32
Collections: Silver's tma fantasy AUs





	A Light to Guide Your Way

**Author's Note:**

> Note on the AU: Martin’s world has magic, but Jon’s does not. Jon basically lives in canon, except for the fact that there is no Martin (the worst version of canonthere could be). Instead of magic he just gets a bunch of horrible fear monsters, y’know, business as usual..
> 
> Written for day 1 of the TMA Fantasy AU week, using the prompt “lantern”
> 
> Current chapter count is a bit of a guess, as the story isn’t quite written yet, but shouldn’t change too much. More chapters should follow later this week, as this is one of the things I’m writing for tma Fantasy week. All fics for this week will be in the collection this fic is also a part of – which already contains some older tma vampire aus, and a Fae au that may interest you!

Jon wasn’t really sure why he came back to see the lantern in Artifact Storage. Nothing kept in Artifact Storage was innocent– he knew that better than most employees of the Magnus Institute. But it kept appearing in his dreams, and that wouldn’t do.

The lantern itself looked normal enough, if somewhat ostentatious. It reminded Jon of the kind one might see in the gardens of manor houses, or a set-piece of a period drama; the almost-art nouveau pattern of gilt foliage holding up frosted glass panes. It was five-sided. An odd, if not necessarily ominous or portentous number. Stylised vines kept the glass in place, and twined together at the top to hold a ring large enough to hold comfortably. All in all it was quite a pretty artifact, which had led Jon to believe that whatever the reason this lantern was in Artifact Storage it was because something had been done to it, not because it had been made for it.

The dreams hadn’t been particularly ominous either, but that didn’t have to mean anything either. In his dreams the lantern was lit, or would light itself. It would float ahead of him as if carried, and he would follow it, never reaching any destination before he woke, but somehow not troubled by that fact. And he did have the distinct impression that it was leading him somewhere– that he was expected somewhere, or by someone.

The fact that it kept appearing at all was a bad enough sign of itself to warrant further inspection. If he’d asked Artifact Storage, they would never have allowed him to investigate the thing on his own, or after work hours, never mind both of those things. He might have been able to convince Elias, but that would mean admitting that he’d been obsessing over the thing for days now, which would not reflect well on his brand new position as Archivist. So Jon simply hadn’t asked anyone, and had waited till everyone had gone home to inspect the damn thing properly.

Seeing it again filled Jon with a strange warmth. This was no uncomfortable heat, or feverish warmth– this felt like a hug from a friend, or a shower at the end of a cold day. Which made it all the more suspicious, because things in Artifact Storage that pretended to be friendly could only have the worst of intentions. Jon would rather face a bloody sword than be made to wonder what horrors this lantern might have in store for him.

So he was going to find out what it wanted.

The lights in Artifact Storage were never switched off, but Jon had brought a flashlight just in case. He could see a few spots of darkness several isles down, where some of the lights had stopped working and hadn’t yet been replaced. He was about to scoff at their negligence, when Jon remembered the state hs Archives were still in, thanks to one Gertrude Robinson. This disorganisation seemed to be a pervasive problem indeed.

Despite the fluorescent lights Jon crept closer only slowly. As he did the lantern’s warmth seemed to seep through him, never becoming warmer, but only more present. He circled it, once from a distance, and again, until he was close enough that he could stretch out a hand to touch it.

The decoration seemed unchanged, the lantern panes not just frosted, but covered in dust undisturbed by his passing. There were still five panes, none of which were damaged at all, despite the lamp’s apparent age.

For long moments Jon stared at the thing. It seemed so harmless. He had to keep reminding himself that it had to be dangerous. It just had to be. It must have deserved it’s spot here somehow.

When nothing changed for long minutes Jon sighed. He was going to have to touch the damn thing to find out, wasn’t he? It shouldn’t have been a surprise. Of course that’s what it would want. Jon berated himself for not bringing gloves, or perhaps a stick to poke the stupid light with from a distance. 

Remembering the torch he’d brought he tapped it first against the gilding, and then against two different panes. The lantern remained unchanged, as did the gentle flow of calm warmth Jon could still feel emanating from it. It dulled his senses in a way he definitely didn’t like, but if he didn’t do this now he might dream of the damn thing forever. Not that he missed some of his old nightmares, but still. This was a matter of principle.

Setting down the torch, Jon stepped close and took a deep breath. Then he picked up the lantern by its ring, surprised to find the metal cold despite the pervading warmth. Twisting it around, looking for the latch that would open one of the windows and allow access to the lamp that should be inside he spotted a tiny spark of light inside the lantern, and almost dropped the thing to the concrete floor. The light was there for only a moment, gone the next as the next glass pane spun into view. Turning it back the other way, Jon saw no lights. Slowly he twisted it back in the original direction, but no lights appeared. A reflection, that’s what it must have been, he decided.

Facing Jon now was a tiny latch, cleverly hidden in the design as a leaf-like shape holding the little door closed. Jon undid the latch, reaching with his left hand across the pane to do so. As he did, he didn’t see his reflection– A reflection, anyway. It too moved across the glass, barely visible through the frosted tint. Except this reflection was a right hand.

As the small door open more warmth spilled out, still filled with pleasant feelings of tea in front of fireplaces and– a light.

Frozen, Jon could only stare at the tiny lame inside the lantern, and the tiny open door on the other side, where face, barely visible in the dark, was staring back at him. Which was impossible. Jon straightened, and looked at the top of the lantern. It had five sides, there was no way any of the panes could face him. Nor could there be any other people on the other side of any of those panes– he was alone in Artifact Storage. 

Risking a second glance, already halfway to convincing himself that this was some mirror-trick, that he’d seen his own reflection he saw– someone. Definitely someone else, blinking at him in shock. The stranger opened their mouth to speak, as Jon reared back stepping out into the corridor and taking the lamp from it’s place on the shelf. Somehow this put no distance at all between the lamp and the stranger, as a hand reached into the lantern to snuff the flame.

Petrified, Jon stared as strong fingers pinched out the light and then– he felt a hand underneath his own, where he had just been holding the lantern. In front of him, an arms-length away and also holding the lantern ring, was a giant of a man, curly haired and broad shouldered and wide chested, the stranger blinked at him in what seemed to be the same mix of fear and confusion Jon was feeling–

Jon released the tall stranger’s hand in shock, taking two enormous steps back. The stranger also tried to step back, but bumped into the metal shelving behind him. He too released the lantern, and as it hit the concrete floors of Artifact Storage it shattered into a thousand pieces of glass and twisted metal.

**Author's Note:**

> NEXT CHAPTER: introductions, and canon typical worms~
> 
> Leave a comment and let me know what you think so far, I absolutely love hearing from you guys!


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